My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Lies require commitment.”
----Veronica Roth
Emma Haughton, an English author, pens a gripping and heart breaking story about a teenager in her new book, Cruel Heart Broken that centers around the life of a high school teenage girl whose life turns upside down when she acts out of line for the very first time in her life and how she is devastated and torn apart because of such incident that made her a murderer.
Synopsis:
Laurie is a good girl - so everyone thinks. But seven months ago she did something that she can't undo and it's tearing her apart.
Charlie used to be her best friend. He's done something he regrets too...and now someone has died.
Two impulsive decisions. Two toxic secrets. Too many hearts broken. Partly inspired by a true story, this is a heart-wrenching novel about impulsive mistakes, and their devastating consequences.
Laurie is the perfect teenage daughter of her parents who will soon join an Ivy league medical school after graduation, irrespective of her few months old elder sister, Katy, who is reckless and a complete good-looking teenage drama queen. Laurie also has a younger brother who loves to annoy the hell out of his elder sisters. In fact Laurie's life is also perfect as she has two wonderful best friends, among whom Charlie is the chocolate boy. One night everything changes, her equation with her best friends forever changes, when Laurie attends the beach birthday party of her classmate, where she does something that she has to regret for the rest of her lives. And she can't undo it, not she can forget it.
Few months later, Charlie accuses a teacher of thrashing him brutally, but why? According to Laurie, that teacher was one of the best they had in their school. Can Laurie find out the real reason behind Charlie's assault?
The author has simply created magic with this story where she has instilled so many strong subjects, social stigmas, and layers that are highly unpredictable and complex thus making the story an utterly absorbing read. The story is arresting from the very first page itself as the author strikingly captures the voice of a fifteen-sixteen year old girl's voice and her flaws aptly into the story line. The readers will be easily transported to the neighborhood where Laurie lived with her parents and her siblings and will visualize the scenes unfolding right before their own eyes. The book's cover image may tell a different story, but what is inside the book is really something powerful and absolutely thought-provoking.
The author's writing style is emphatic, and well-structured with so many distinct layers and with the onset of the story, the author begins to peel away one layer after another thus providing a clear vision and depth of her story. The writing style is quite honest and something easy to connect with as she laces it with emotions which can be high or low. The pacing of the story is moderate and with the progress of the story, the readers will be easily glued to the pages of this book till the very end.
The characters are the best aspect of this book, although there are not many characters in the story. The main character, Laurie is a brave, calm and young teenager who is a fighter and knows how to solve her problems by her own. All through out the story, Laurie will have that psychological grip on the minds of the readers. Her grief and her journey, especially the challenges she face despite her already broken heart will make the readers root for her till the very end. Moreover, the way she has been depicted with so much realism, the readers will find it easy to relate to her problems as well as her story. The rest of the supporting characters, like Charlie and his mother are very much well-developed and their authentic demeanor will keep the readers focused into the story line.
In a nutshell, this is a must read story for each and every teenager which is loosely based on a real life incident between a student and a teacher and how a lie destroyed the life of a reputed man. I found myself drowning into the depths of this compelling and riveting story while I was reading this book one lonely afternoon.
Verdict: This is the kind of story which will not only move you, but will also change your opinion about certain social issues.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Emma Haughton's publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Emma Haughton grew up in Sussex and, after a stint au pairing in Paris and some half-hearted attempts to backpack across Europe, studied English at Oxford and got a job as a journalist. She wrote articles for many of the national newspapers, including regular pieces for the Times Travel section.
Her first fiction was a picture book called RAINY DAY, followed by a number of non-fiction books for schools. Her first YA thriller, NOW YOU SEE ME, was published in 2014 and nominated for the Carnegie and the Amazing Book Awards. Her second, BETTER LEFT BURIED, was picked by the Sunday Express and The Independent as one of the best YA reads for 2015. Emma is currently working on her third novel, CRUEL HEART BROKEN, out July 2016.
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